Admission control at large crowd related events which have an admission charge, such as amusement parks, water slide parks, concerts, and the like, has been a longstanding problem. In the past, in an effort to exercise control, persons admitted to an event have been wrist or hand stamped with a specific ink symbol, when the admission charge is paid, in order to provide notice to scrutineers that admission has been paid, and also to permit the person to leave and return to the event without paying double admission. However, unscrupulous individuals intent on avoiding payment of the admission charge have devised ways to duplicate the stamp or transfer stamped impressions from the hand of one person to the hand of another person. Moreover such stamps are not satisfactory if the event involves swimming, because the ink symbol washes off or fades. Waterproof inks are not acceptable because they can not be washed off after the event. Lastly, ink stamps can often smudge, which defeats the purpose of being able to identify a clear impression on the hand or wrist of a patron.
More recently, color coded plastic wriststraps which are disposed of after the event, have become a common means of paid admission identification. However, such straps are not foolproof and are subject to a new set of shortcomings. Many can be stretched and thus transferred from the wrist of one person to another. Also, the locks on such wriststraps can usually be picked by using a sharp pin or other thin object to release the internal locking mechanism.
It is common for identification wriststraps to be made of laminated vinyl and held together by a metal or plastic rivet, or for the wriststrap to be a plastic sheet held together with glue from a piece of transfer tape. These designs are unreliable because the straps can be stretched and slid off the wrist, or the vinyl can be pulled over the plastic or metal rivet. In straps which use transfer glue, the transfer tape glue takes too long to set and can be peeled back immediately, or even later, with a sharp instrument such as the flat edge of a pen knife. It is important in those cases where large numbers of people must be passed through turnstiles, and the like, as rapidly as possible that the identification system be fast as well as foolproof. Transfer glue-type straps are not satisfactory for this purpose. It is evident that these designs are not tamper resistant, and as a consequence, the admission paying patron can transfer the wriststrap to a non-paying individual without detection.
Strings and metal clips have also been used but they are not satisfactory because the metal clip sometimes cuts into the wrist of the wearer and this creates a legal liability problem for the owner or operator of the event.
The applicant is aware of a number of patents which disclose various designs of wriststraps and fastening straps. These are listed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,103,292, H. Leach, Dec. 28, 1937, entitled "Seal".
U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,621, W. W. Mosher, Jr., et al., Oct. 4, 1960, entitled "Adjustable Bracelet for Identification Purposes".
U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,869, C. R. Chamberlin, Sept. 22, 1964, entitled "One-Time Use Plastic Lock".
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,575, P. Farkas, Jan. 19, 1971, entitled "Tamperproof Seal".
U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,294, Iwamoto et al., May 4, 1976, entitled "Plastic Sealing Device".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,011, Rakestraw et al., May 15, 1979, entitled "Personalized Identification Band".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,900, MacLarty et al., June 16, 1981 entitled "Identity Band".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,049, Adamson, Feb. 26, 1985, entitled "Disposable One-Piece Security Sealing Device".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,415, Switt, Mar. 26, 1985, entitled "Security Seal and Tag Holder".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,218, Chevillard et al., Sept. 2, 1986, entitled "Plastic Seal".
Of these patents, two are considered to be relevant to the invention that is disclosed and claimed herein. Mosher et al. discloses an adjustable disposable identification bracelet which is adapted to be utilized in single use situations. Among other things, Mosher discloses a complicated self-locking fastener which, once engaged on the strap, cannot be dislodged. The strap is removed by cutting the strap. The strap is made up of a number of separate parts and is relatively expensive to manufacture.
MacLarty discloses an identity band which comprises an elongate strap and a latch portion which forms a slot through which the strap is pushed to form the band into a loop. The strap has a series of apertures therein providing a series of transverse stop surfaces alternating with a series of transverse camming surfaces. Within the slot there is a latching element. As the strap is pushed through the slot to form the loop, the camming surfaces in turn cam the latching element out of the path of the strap to permit passage thereof through the slot. The stop surfaces are arranged so that, if an attempt is made to pull the strap in the opposite direction through the slot one of them engages with the latching element to prevent such movement of the strap. Both the stop surfaces and the camming surfaces meet the upper and lower faces of the strap portion at angles other than right angles. The latch element is wedge-like and mounted at its thicker end. The band is formed so that it can carry information identifying the person wearing the band.
A problem with the MacLarty identity band is that the latch locks in only one direction and thus the strap can continue to be pulled through the latch, thus choking off the circulation to the hand if the strap becomes caught on some unyielding object. Also, the latch disclosed by MacLarty can be tampered with or unlocked by inserting a sharp pin or other suitable object into the latch to release the locking member.